As part of its activities for Blindness Awareness Month, the Disabled People’s Network (DPN) of Region Five on Tuesday held an exercise to sensitize drivers of minibuses that they should not discriminate.
President of the DPN, Mark Archibald told Stabroek News “the drivers have a right to transport us because we pay our money just like other passengers.”
He said many times the drivers of public transportation would not stop for persons with disabilities and that they would be left on the road for a long time.
“We are asking that they allow us to go about our daily routine in a comfortable manner. We have a right to travel and they should not make us feel neglected.”
The exercise was held in front of the Fort Wellington Police Station and an officer assisted in stopping the minibuses. Members distributed flyers and collected donations from some of the drivers.
Archibald said that the DPN also held sensitization exercises at the schools, urging teachers and students to love and appreciate students with disabilities.
He said too that members would “like to do so many things but we do not have the finance.”
The organization would be happy if government could “give us a subvention so we can carry out our activities.”
One big venture the network is embarking on is the establishment of a special needs school at Seafield, West Coast Berbice. The school is expected to cater for about 70 persons.
The land for the school is available next to where the DPN members meet to operate their computer education, skills training, block making and other sessions.
Archibald pointed out that the school is badly needed in the region but lamented that they cannot accomplish it without the help of donors.
He called on businesspersons and others to “come on board to assist”
and said that an account has already been set up at the bank where persons can take their donation.
But being differently-able would not stop members from trying to raise funds and they would be doing so through a walk-a-ton later in June.
Persons desirous of donating towards the establishment of the school can do so at the Republic Bank’s account #733-792-6 or call
678-8777.
Abusive
Giving examples of the discrimination that disabled persons face, Public Relations Officer of the network, Abigail Hamilton recalled that at one time a minibus stopped for her and her 10-year-old daughter but drove off because they “did not want slow people in the bus.”
She said too that one evening she and the child were at the bus park in Georgetown returning to Berbice when a conductor, who it seemed badly wanted passengers, held her and placed her in a minibus.
She recalled that during the journey she made two requests, one of which was to “turn the music down so I could answer my phone,” and they complied.
After that she asked the driver to “please put on the lights so my daughter could see to take out the fare.” But at that stage he became abusive and said “since we joined the bus we were problems; that we only want this and want that.”
To top it off, when he reached at a “lonely road at Mahaicony he stopped the bus and demanded that we `get out the bus’ and started to use indecent language.”
She refused to come out and told him he would “have to take me to the [police] station. I told him that because I am visually impaired he was taking advantage…”
Hamilton of Paradise, West Berbice said the passengers had to intervene before the driver closed the door and continued the journey.
She said these behaviours hurt disabled persons and drivers need to be more sensitive and patient. She hopes that the yearly exercise would be able to make a difference and that they would continue to “fight for our rights.”
